Tragedy threatens immigration push

President Barack Obama promised to make immigration reform his top priority after the election.

But twice in the last five months, unimaginable acts of violence rattled the country — first in Newtown, Conn. and then in Boston — splintering Washington’s attention among immigration, gun control and now terrorism.

“There’s still so much that is being hashed out,” one immigration lobbyist said, noting that groups are in disarray trying to figure out whether they should release statements about the 17-page summary leaked Tuesday.

“It’s caused a lot of chaos.”

Republican lawmakers like Rep. Lou Barletta are already calling for more time.

“Especially for members who still need to understand everybody’s perspective on illegal immigration,” said the Pennsylvania Republican, who was widely known for cracking down on illegal immigrants as a mayor. “I have been preaching the importance of our immigration laws, tying it to national security and visa overstays. Nobody is talking about it. Forty percent of the people who are here illegally — they didn’t cross the southern border.”

And the most recent incident in Boston could fan even more opposition, though it’s unclear who carried out the attacks.

League of United Latin American Citizens head Brent Wilkes said there is always a “threat of something happening when the details of the bombing attack become public.”

“If for example… somehow the person who did this was an immigrant, that would be something that would certainly make it harder for us to usher legalization through both the Senate and House,” he said, remembering the change overnight from support to opposition for an immigration overhaul after the Sept. 11th attacks.